Purpose of the study: Studies have shown that patient safety culture (PSC) is poorly developed in nursing homes (NHs), and, therefore, residents of NHs may be at risk of harm. Using Donabedian's Structure-Process-Outcome (SPO) model, we examined the relationships among top management's ratings of NH PSC, a process of care, and safety outcomes.…

Purpose of the Study: A novel logistic regression tree-based method was applied to identify fall risk factors and possible interaction effects of those risk factors. Design and Methods: A nationally representative sample of American older adults aged 65 years and older (N = 9,592) in the Health and Retirement Study 2004 and 2006 modules was used.…

Purpose of the Study: We examined messages that the websites of the top cable news companies (MSNBC, FOX, and CNN) conveyed about cognition between January 2007 and March 2010. Drawing on agenda-setting theory, this work assessed the frequency, prominence, and attributes of cognitive topics in messages targeting an aging audience. Design and…

Purpose of the study: To determine whether reported falls at baseline are associated with an older adult's decision to make a residential adjustment (RA) and the type of adjustment made in the subsequent 2 years. Design and Methods: Observations (n = 25,036) were from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative sample of…

Purpose of study: The direct care workforce continues to rank as one of the most frequently injured employee groups in North America. Occupational health and safety studies have shown that workplace injuries translate into negative outcomes for workers and their employers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)…

Purpose To assess the effects of an interdisciplinary intervention on the trajectories of functional recovery among older patients with hip fracture during 2 years after hospitalization. Design and Methods In a randomized controlled trial with 24-month follow-up, 162 patients [greater than or equal to]60 years were enrolled after hip-fracture…

Purpose of the Study: To examine the components of cost that drive increased total costs after a medical fall over time, stratified by injury severity. Design and Methods: We used 2004-2007 cost and utilization data for persons enrolled in an integrated care delivery system. We used a longitudinal cohort study design, where each individual…

Purpose of the study: To assess the recruitment, adherence, and retention of urban elderly, predominantly African Americans to a falls reduction exercise program. Design and methods: The randomized controlled trial was designed as an intervention development pilot study. The goal was to develop a culturally sensitive intervention for elderly…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to estimate hospital and long-term-care costs resulting from falls in long-term-care facilities (LTCFs). Design and Methods: The study used a retrospective, pre/post with comparison group design. We used matching, based on propensity scores, to control for baseline differences between fallers and non-fallers.…

Purpose: This article estimates the effects of alcohol consumption on self-reported overall health status, injuries, heart problems, emergency room use, and hospitalizations among persons older than the age of 65. Design and Methods: We analyzed data from the first wave of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a…

Purpose: This study introduces the first National Nursing Assistant Survey (NNAS), a major advance in the data available about certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and a rich resource for evidence-based policy, practice, and applied research initiatives. We highlight potential uses of this new survey using select population estimates as examples of…

Purpose: The Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) curriculum was developed as an adjunct to other educational initiatives that were part of Ontario, Canada's Alzheimer Strategy. GPA emphasizes that an individual's unique personal history has a direct application to the interpretation of and response to their behavior. It incorporates strategies into…

Purpose: On the basis of the experience of an extensive community-based research partnership in New York City, we developed an innovative process for bridging the gap between aging-related research and practice, using a consensus-workshop model. Design and Methods: We adapted the traditional scientific consensus-workshop model to include…

Compared to hospitalized patients (N=100) who had not fallen, 100 hospitalized patients who had fallen were more likely to have had a previous fall, presence of a secondary diagnosis, intravenous therapy, impaired gait, used walking aids, and poor mental states. Identifies three types of falls (physiological anticipated, physiological…

At 16 senior centers, studied effectiveness of exercise and cognitive-behavioral programs, compared to discussion control program, in reducing falls and injuries among 230 older adults. After one year of programs, observed no significant difference in time to first fall among groups. Secondary outcome measures such as strength, balance, fear of…